Travel Matters

Friday, September 15, 2017

Rebalancing Our Lop-sided World

We live in a lop-sided world. In
one part of the world we have an over-supply of food, clothing, consumer goods,
leisure activities and professional services. While the other part of the world
faces an under-supply, a desperate lack, of basic goods and services.

People in rich countries suffer
and die from obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and numerous other
illnesses due to over-eating unhealthy foods. While million in poor countries
suffer and die from malnutrition, starvation and poverty-related illnesses. Extreme
excess versus extreme deprivation is such a bizarre imbalance!

We in the UK, Europe, US,
Australia are spoilt for choice. We are “lucky” to be able to buy a vast
assortment of cheap household and personal goods. We can have anything we want;
big screen TVs, hi tech vacuum cleaners, double-door fridges, therapeutic
mattresses, comfy furniture, luxury cars, the latest fashion, fancy footwear, beautiful
cosmetics, …you name it, we can have it all…by next day delivery.

We can have all these sparkly
consumer goods because they’re manufactured in poor countries using low-paid,
exploited labour. By “labour” I mean real flesh and blood, living, breathing,
feeling human beings, just like us, who work gruelling hours hunched over
machines.

We revel in an embarrassment of
riches when it comes to entertainment, exotic holidays and leisure pursuits to
fill up our time while people in poor countries struggle just to survive each
day without the basic needs of life.

Comparing Problems

Compare these First World
problems with Third World problems.

You can’t fit into your jeans
after over-indulging in chocolates, cake and wine or burgers and beer! You and
your children eat one daily meal of bland maize porridge.

You miss your train by one
minute! Damn! Your little daughter walks 10 miles twice a day to a stagnant creek
to fetch dirty water for the family to drink.

Having missed your train you get
home too late to watch your favourite TV show! Your children don’t have shoes
so their feet become infected with diseases and parasites.

You are overcharged on your
mobile phone usage! Every day you face the indignity of defecating behind a
bush because your community doesn’t have toilets.

Whenever we face such annoying
inconveniences, we can get our problems into perspective by contemplating the horrendous
problems of people living in poverty. And some well-off people are motivated to
do something about the global unfairness. We need to correct the imbalance so
the two extremes find some middle ground.

Older People Can Use Their Skills to Solve Problems

In our rich, developed world,
especially here in London, we also have an over-supply of talented, educated,
skilful professionals to compete for the top jobs or the fierce ambition to
start their own businesses in an incredibly competitive marketplace.

We have a surplus of women and
men aged over 50 with a lifetime of skills, knowledge and wisdom accumulated
from successful careers, managing complex lives and raising families. And yet
older people are not wanted in the fast-paced, tech-obsessed, youth-focused
workplace. Sadly we are mostly redundant, obsolete, superfluous and consigned
to the scrapheap! We are not supposed to say that out loud because fair-minded employers,
non-ageist youngsters and feisty oldies will deny this predicament and cite
exceptions.

But this lop-sided world is full
of irony and unlikely opportunities if you can think outside the box.

Yes, us oldies are in hot demand
in poor countries where our skills, knowledge and wisdom plus our heartfelt
qualities of nurturing, empathy and compassion are welcomed.

What do we want after we have
raised kids to adulthood and given the best of our lives to our chosen
vocation? Not just holidays and hobbies, people over 50 have a deep craving to be
needed, wanted and loved, respected, appreciated and valued. We have loads of
affection to give. We long to share the treasures in our hearts and minds.

We have an immense desire to
contribute to the world, to make it a better, kinder, fairer place for future
generations. We want to reduce suffering and increase joy. Making a positive
difference replaces a feeling of helplessness with a sense of empowerment. And
who doesn’t want to feel strong and empowered rather than weak and useless?

Becoming Wild At Heart

Ordinary people can become
extraordinary when transported to places of great need. I was struck by this
possibility watching the box set of Wild
At Heart, an inspiring TV series, starring Stephen Tompkinson, where an
ordinary vet from Bristol, plodding along treating domestic pets, is
transformed into an extraordinary conservationist when he moves to the
wilderness of South Africa, and faces daily challenges to save and protect
endangered species.

I believe mature-aged people from
rich countries should volunteer in poor communities around the world. Such a
shift of skills, knowledge and resources will start to rebalance our lop-sided
world. Us oldies will experience a new lease on life, savouring the joys of
other cultures, and the fulfilment of being wanted and needed.

We will become empowered by empowering
others. The rewards will flow both ways as we love and support desperate
children, men and women struggling to survive in poverty. By sharing our
knowledge, skills and resources we will balance our lop-sided world with human
rights and social justice.

This is exactly what I plan to
do when I leave next week for Kenya to volunteer in a community centre caring
for orphans, supporting women with income-generating projects and helping in
the community vegetable garden.

Join me on my journey into
another culture and stay tuned for my weekly stories of venturing out of my comfort
zone to discover how to be wanted and needed beyond 50.

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About Me

Hello Friends,
Rather than focusing on what the world can do for you, consider what you can do for the world!
Our planet is in crisis and needs us all to solve problems and improve the quality of life.
Everyone, whatever age, can use their wisdom, compassion and skills to improve life for humans, animals and the planet.
I challenge you to embrace a life of love and purpose.
I am an experienced journalist with a long career writing for newspapers, magazines and online publications in Australia and the UK. I'm also a qualified counsellor and workshop facilitator.
These days, I'm passionate about empowering communities with knowledge about health, human rights and ending harmful practices across Africa.
Share my journey and be inspired to Make A Difference!